Portable telephone

• US 7,142,817 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2002
• Issued: 11/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Hankui, Eiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Anderson, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): DAO, MINH D
• Application Number:
  US10/416,301
• Publication Number:
  US 20040023701A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,761 Days
• Field of Search: 455/550.1, 455/575.1, 455/575.2, 455/575.5, 455/90.2, 455/90.3, 361/704, 361/705
• US Class Current: 455/550.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/244 extendable from a housing along a given path
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/245 with means for shaping the antenna pattern, e.g. in order to protect user against rf exposure
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/526 Electromagnetic shields
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3833 Hand-held transceivers

Abstract

A low-profile cellular phone has improved radiation efficiency during a call for higher communication quality, and is of a structure allowing the cellular phone to be of a lower profile than heretofore with the magnetic plate and awkward structures such as its fixing jigs being not disposed in a gap within an outer case of the cellular phone.

A cellular phone includes at least an antenna for mainly sending and receiving radio waves for communication with a base-station, a printed-circuit board having a metal surface as a board ground layer for the antenna and electronic components mounted thereon, a feeder for supplying electric power to the antenna and the metal surface, a magnetic plate made of a magnetic material housed in an outer case for intensifying a radio wave in a free space during a talk, and an outer case housing therein the printed-circuit board, the feeder, and the magnetic plate. The cellular phone is arranged such that the printed-circuit board is of a multilayered structure, and the magnetic plate is embedded partly or entirely between inner layers of the printed-circuit board spaced from the board ground layer and opposite to a side of the printed-circuit board spaced where the antenna is located.

Claims

1. A cellular phone comprising:

an antenna for mainly sending and receiving radio waves for communication with a base station,

a printed-circuit board having a metal surface as a board ground layer for the antenna and electronic components mounted thereon,

a feeder for supplying electric power to said antenna and said metal surface,

a magnetic plate made of a magnetic material for intensifying a radio wave in a free space during a talk, and

an outer case housing therein said printed-circuit board, said feeder, and said magnetic plate, wherein

said printed-circuit board is a multilayered structure; and

said magnetic plate is embedded partly or entirely between layers of said printed-circuit board spaced from said board ground layer and opposite to a side of the printed-circuit board where said antenna is located.

2. A cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein said printed-circuit board comprises an N-layered board having N layers, said metal surface (ground layer) being formed as an Lth layer (L satisfies the relationship:

1≦

L <

N−

1) and said magnetic plate being embedded across M layers (M satisfies the relationship;

1≦

M <

N−

L) between the Lth layer and the Nth layer.

3. A cellular phone according to claim 2, wherein said printed-circuit board comprises a four-layer board having a first layer as a signal layer closest to the side where said antenna is located, a second layer as a ground layer, a third layer as a power supply layer, and a fourth layer as a signal layer, said magnetic plate being disposed between the third and fourth layers and selectively partly disposed in covering said antenna and a region near the feeder.

4. A cellular phone according to any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein said printed-circuit board supports said antenna and said feeder thereon, said magnetic plate being disposed remotely from said antenna and said feeder across said ground layer in fully covering said antenna, said feeder, and said ground layer.

5. A cellular phone according to claim 4, wherein said metal surface of said printed-circuit board is disposed in a region lower than said feeder, said antenna comprising a helical antenna.

6. A cellular phone according claim 1, wherein an auxiliary metal plate is disposed on a side of said magnetic plate opposite to a face thereof which confronts said antenna.

7. A cellular phone according to claim 6, wherein a metal surface pattern is formed as said auxiliary metal plate on a layer of said printed-circuit board behind said magnetic plate on the side opposite to said antenna, in a region corresponding to the area of said magnetic plate.

8. A cellular phone according claim 1, wherein said magnetic plate has a complex permeability for reflecting a radio wave from said antenna and said metal surface to intensity the radio wave in the space for increased radiation efficiency.

9. A cellular phone according to claim 8, wherein said magnetic plate has a complex permeability (μ

r′

−

iμ

r″

, i is the complex unit) where the real part and the imaginary part are related to each other by μ

r′

>

μ

r″

at the frequency used by the cellular phone.

11. A cellular phone according to claim 8, wherein said outer case is made of a nonmetallic material such as plastic, and has an inner surface partly covered with electrically conductive metal, said magnetic plate being directly bonded to a surface of said electrically conductive metal.

10. A cellular phone comprising:

an antenna for mainly sending and receiving radio waves for communication with a base station,

a printed-circuit board having a metal surface as a board ground layer for the antenna and electronic components mounted thereon,

a feeder for supplying electric power to said antenna and said metal surface,

a magnetic plate made of a magnetic material for intensifying a radio wave in a free space during a talk, and

an outer case housing therein said printed-circuit board, said feeder, and said magnetic plate, wherein

said magnetic plate is of a double-layer structure having an auxiliary metal plate lined on a side of said magnetic plate opposite to a face thereof which confronts said antenna.